REVIEW: Organ Dealer/ Nerve Grind/ Invertebrate, Split (EP)

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 01/07/2018

Label: Night Animal Records

“Organ Dealer/ Nerve Grind/ Invertebrate Split EP” DD//7” track listing

1. Organ Dealer,”Feed”

2. Organ Dealer, “Burn”

3. Organ Dealer, “Remnants”

4. Organ Dealer, “Totality”

5. Organ Dealer, “Contour”

6. Organ Dealer, “Silence”

7. Never Grind, “Bow to Nothingness”

8. Never Grind, Existential Significance

9. Never Grind, Worthless Failure

10. Invertebrate, “Mindgout”

11. Invertebrate, “Fuckface”

12. Invertebrate, “Good for Nothing”

13. Invertebrate, “Choke”

14. Invertebrate, “The Reckoning”

15. Invertebrate, “Chump”

The Review:

               

It’s a god damned golden age of grind.  Even the overlooked gems are getting second lives in the form of reissues (who the hell would expect beautiful, expansive Spazz discographies in multiple formats NOW?), reunions, international festivals, and bona fide geniuses putting out fresh releases constantly.  The deluge of content is overwhelming, but the appreciation for the true forebears quickly wipes out posers and tryhards.  Plus, there’s a certain punky self-effacing attitude that is undeniable about grind – this shit is on the fringes, and not in some right wing edgelord way.  It’s crass, it’s brutal, it’s sometimes silly, but for those who love it, there are few ways better than spending fifteen minutes (or often less) than smashing your way through a grind split.  The best of them have the minute shifts in style and tone that make the genre far more diverse than its harshest critics would have you believe.  And if it’s just a mediocre effort – hell who doesn’t have fifteen minutes to spare?  Thankfully, the three-way collaboration from Organ Dealer, Nerve Grind, and Invertebrate, heralded as an East Coast/West Coast “meeting of the grinds”, is definitely the former: an all-star smashup that offers entry for genre newbies and no holds barred true grind annihilation for the most seasoned veterans.

               

Organ Dealer may be my favorite underground grind band of the moment.  Maybe it’s the hometown pride, maybe it’s the sheer volume of output, but there’s also genuine craft to what they’re releasing – a sometimes mathy, sometimes hardcore balance that makes them stand out on every release.  I’m a fan of the dual vocal style as they employ it here, with guitarist Tom Maher offering guttural backup to Scot Moriarty’s higher register hardcore bark; it’s not necessarily melodic, but there’s a dynamic force and musicality to the way Moriarty spits out (on “Burn”), “You cannot gaze at me! Without me life is naught!” 

The balance of Trevor Gramm’s clear, pristine basswork; the dual guitar riffing of Jeff Knoblauch & Maher; and Eric Schnee’s mind warping drumming start the EP with the breakneck “Feed” and the brutality never relents. 

“Totality” is the most distinctly “mathcore” sounding cut, with Schnee ascending into jazz-metal bodhisattva mode.  When they back off from blast beat pummeling, like on personal fave “Contour”, Organ Dealer slides into a sneering punk swing that just hits me in the perfect way – I wanted to start my own circle pit on mass transit but had to settle for upsetting my seatmate on the bus with excessive headbanging.  “Silence” is a grim standout for me – it’s not “classic” grind, but it’s nasty and heavy, and the perfect bookend to the six stellar tracks Organ Dealer lay down.

               

Nerve Grind go straight for the lizard brain, offering ignorant as fuck deathy grind that doesn’t even crack the two minute mark.  I didn’t have a lyric sheet for this one, but with titles like “Bow to Nothingness”, “Existential Significance”, and “Worthless Failure”, I assume guitarist/vocalist Jeff is bellowing out some truly soul-crushing madness – the perfect match for the downtuned murky progressions.  The drumming by Douglas is that relentless old school blast beat madness that only requires a simple kit but genuine chops that would make black metal Frost wannabes cry into their plastic mead horns.  It’s brutal and short and solid grind.

               

Invertebrate highlight that weird playful grind attitude I really love.  Using key samples and excellent timing, they often made me laugh out loud before launching into misanthropic sludge-inflected grind.  Lyrics like “fucking disgrace / emotions erase / good for nothing / pile of shit” highlight the mantra (if there is one) of this band’s 7 tracks: fuck you AND fuck me, too.  Another power trio, they have a solid vocal interplay by all three members, with one offering a somewhat adenoidal bark that was weirdly satisfying and unique amid the deathy growls and hardcore shouts.  The majority of the tracks are breakneck classic grind, with satisfying forays into sludgy, groove-inflected riffing.  I’d be really interested in seeing them break out more in a full-length, even if it’s just 15 minutes long, too.

               

Overall, this untitled split doesn’t reinvent or redefine anything about grind, but with so many lauded, heavy bands eschewing just what endeared them to metal audiences (the “black” in the “blackgaze” crop, the “metal” in the prog metal glut), Organ Dealer, Nerve Grind and Invertebrate stick to brutal basics and seem all the more remarkable because of the lack of gimmicky bullshit.  When they throw in some unexpected grooves, ease back into a slower tempo, or pepper in some funny sampling, they serve as essential reminders that heavy bands can be innovative and exciting without hopping on the latest bandwagon or hitching themselves to the fads that crest and crash every few years in American metal circles.  These guys are lifers – the fact that they’re excellent musicians is just that much more exciting for anyone who’s been paying attention to the underground.

“Organ Dealer/ Nerve Grind/ Invertebrate Split EP” is available here

Band info: OrganDealer|| NerveGrind|| Invertebrate

REVIEW: Come to Grief / Fistula & Fistula / -(16)- [Splits]

By: Ernesto Aguilar


Album Type: Split

Date Released:29/12/2017

Label: PATAC Records

 

“Come to Grief | Fistula” & “Fistula | -(16)-“ Split 7”//CS//DD track listing

1). Come to Grief – “Take Me In My Sleep”

2). Fistula– “Confusion”

1). Fistula– “Mongoloid” (Devo)

2). -(16)- “Complications” (Killing Joke)

The Review:

In a year of conflict and uncertainty, one thing came out clear as anything: legendary Ohiosludge crew Fistuladid not piss away the end of 2017 binge watching garbage on Netflix. Nope. In fact, the band dove headfirst into creating new music. It is featured as part of a new seven-inch series, where the band is paired up with other veteran acts – Maine four-piece Come to Grief and Los Angeles long-timers -(16)-for sonic adventures aplenty.

The pair of singles begins with Come to Grief's entry, a dense and dangerous cut built around Jonathan Hébert's searing vocals and the brawny guitar of Terry Savastano. "Take Me In My Sleep" is deceptively powerful. From the slow climb of its opening, Come to Grief maintains a thick and ominous rhythm throughout this song. As fans may recall, the quartet arose from the ashes of the 1990s group Grief, reconstituting to some range the songs for that group written by Savastano, and which include former Griefdrummer Chuck Conlon. However, it was evident even early on that the new incarnation is not a tribute band, but an altogether intriguing evolution of the progenitor's classic sound. Much credit for this growth is to some degree owed to the presence of Hébert behind the microphone. His voice demands your attention and obedience, with a wiry snarl and dexterous attack. With a foundation ballasted by Conlon and bassist Tim Simpson, "Take Me In My Sleep" is a lethal selection for this seven-inch.

Speaking of veteran experience, -(16)- makes their presence felt on the second seven-inch, employing its renowned sludge prowess with slicing riffs, grave soil dark bass and vocals that rattle you like kicking a pile of spent bullet shells across a concrete floor. In the hands of -(16)-, a song by iconic post-punk clan Killing Joke is not just a particularly savage cover, but a fearless reimagining of some of the English band's best work. The showcase player here is Bobby Ferry, whose guitar plows through this originally brisk paced song with a hint of speed yet still faithful to what -(16)- does best. Similarly Cris Jerue's singing takes a page from Jaz Coleman, yet blows open the doors to put his band's stamp on this rendition. With Barney Firks on bass and Dion Thurman at the drum kit, -(16)-shows new and stalwart fans just how effectively the group is able to rejuvenate this material.

These tracks – and the sheer quality of the performers – taken in, it is evident that Fistulahas quite a high bar to meet on what is a marquee placement for the band.

If you are familiar with the Devo song Fistula covers on that split with -(16)-,the 1994 track is one of those sublime post-rock/electronic hybrids that made the band innovators so visionary, as well as one of the best known Rock & Roll Hall of Fame snubs. It is a bold choice; its early-math rock guitar and slinky synths could be hard to pull off for a band loved for its sludge. Where it works best is when Fistula are faithful to the original, with just that hint of vacant eyed stare that made them such a musical terror. With a similarly terse beginning, it's into a straight-ahead mashing of guitars and boiling-over vocals. Fistula are wildly accurate with their strikes – a driving rhythm section is met at flourishes by effects, growls punctuate the mood with urgency, and, in less than three-and-a-half minutes, the squad owns the song.

It is its original music, however, where Fistula delivers its real coup de grace. "Contusion" is its selection from the split with Come to Grief, and it delivers a delicious mix of sludge, with a hint of hardcore and doom. A pulsing bass courtesy of Greg Peel undergirds the impenetrable riffs, while Dan Harrington's anguished vocals command your focus. As a quintet, the group uses all its instruments to their fullest potential; dual guitars, drums and bass stretch out across the nearly six-minute track and set a pensive mood, only to recoil with fury again and again as the song cranks up and finally down. You have a lot to look forward to in the next release from one of sludge's best.

Both Splits are available here

Band info: fistula || -(16)- || Come To Grief

REVIEW: "Moloch/Disrotted" & "Cloud Rat/Moloch" (Splits)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Splits

Date Released: 10/05/2017 |10/04/2017

Labels: Feast of Tentacles |

Halo of Flies

“Disrotted/Molch Split 7”//DD track listing:

1). Disrotted – “Deliquium”

2). Moloch – “Fleshwound”

“Cloud Rat/Moloch Split 12”//DD track listing:

1). Clout Rat – “Sueno”

2). Cloud Rat – “Perdiak”

3). Cloud Rat – “Stench”

4). Cloud Rat – “Baby Sling (Balloon Born)”

5). Cloud Rat – “Biting the Air”

6). Cloud Rat – “Pit”

7). Cloud Rat – “Amber Flush”

8). Moloch – “The Ninth Wave/Bloody North”

9). Moloch – “Lead”

The Review:

2017 looks set to be an amazing year for Moloch. The Nottingham sludge dealers will be spreading their crushing misery across the US in support of Thou in the summer and are about to unleash a cavalcade of new releases. The first two waves in this attack are a couple of mighty splits; an LP with Michigan grind/punk whirlwind Cloud Ratand a 7” with funereal Chicago doomers Disrotted.

I’ve been hungry for more Moloch since their great 2016 split LP with Lich. The new material on offer across these two new records more than lives up to my expectations and sees the band take their sickening racket to new levels of extremity.

“The Ninth Wave / Bloody North” opens the Moloch side of the Cloud Rat split with twelve minutes of unrelenting terror. It begins with lumbering stop/start riffs and harrowing howls that establish a mood of all-encompassing dread from the very first second. The track degenerates further into a bottomless pit of despair, like a mix of Eyehategod and early Swansfiltered through a grimy noise rock lens. Just when you think this treacly crawl could not get any more unpleasant, the track drops down to a lone dirty bass and screeching feedback which acts a backdrop for a harrowing sample of indecipherable barked threats and desperate tears. It’s unlikely you will hear a more distressing and powerful track this year.

“Lead”offers some relative respite from this onslaught but still consists of repetitive bludgeoning riffs. It sees Moloch expanding their sonic horizons to take in some unhinged lead guitar squalls and more expansive sounds that bring a hint of black metal to the pounding finale.

The band’s contribution to the split 7” with Disrotted is the most direct of these new tracks. Relatively perky by Moloch’sstandards, it’s a hard-riffing no-nonsense sludge assault but still mired in a swamp of feedback and filth.

Moloch’s offerings on these splits see them raise their already impressive game, making them the ones to beat when it comes to ugly, messy, noise-riddled doom. My ears and soul should have recovered from the carnage inflicted by these new songs just in time to enjoy their imminent new LP.

The best part of split releases is getting introduced to killer new bands and Moloch have teamed up with first class partners here.  Disrotted contribute seven minutes of slow motion punishment to their split 7”. The band’s brand of Burning Witch-style torment is a good foil for Moloch’s more aggressive approach, unleashing molasses-thick waves of doom that wash over the listener to create a dense, hypnotic wall of sound. Once you’ve entered the dark cloud of Disrotted’saural domain, it’s hard to pull yourself free.

Cloud Rat’s ever-shifting blend of high octane grind, crust and hardcore punk is completely captivating and a brilliant contrast to Moloch’s drudgery. “Sueno” kicks things off with a pummelling intro riff that blurs into chaotic screamo mayhem while “Baby Sling / Balloon Born” introduces some spidery, discordant guitar lines that shift into furious d-beat sections that recall the fury of the much-missed Hammers. Every track here is loaded with twists and turns that strike the right balance between complexity and no-nonsense rock fury that results in an addictive blast of cathartic fury. The hints of keyboards throughout these tracks culminate in the glorious curveball of closing track “Amber Fury”. A brooding piece of post-punk synthcore it sounds like Cold Cave being played through a broken radio. The fuzzy lo-fi production only adds to its haunting quality. Somehow this complete change of sound sits perfectly beside the chaos that precedes it and within the split LP as a whole. It demonstrates that Cloud Rat are an amazing band who could turn their hand to pretty much any genre and produce gold.

Overall, these two splits are both essential purchases that showcase three incredible underground bands. Buy now.

“Disrotted/Moloch”is available here and “Cloud Rat/Moloch” is available here and USA

Band info: Moloch Facebook|| Disrotted Facebook|| Clout Rat Facebook